The Brazilian government decided to send a representative to the new inauguration of Nicolás Maduro as president of Venezuela, even after avoiding recognizing the result of the election held by the Chavista dictatorship in 2024. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will remain in Brazil and will not send any minister to Caracas and will be represented by the ambassador to Venezuela, Glivânia Maria de Oliveira.
The government’s assessment is that it is necessary to maintain channels with the Chavistas, even after the distance between the two governments in recent months and the political strain caused by the relationship with Caracas.
Lula, who occasionally attends the inaugurations of presidents with whom he wants to strengthen ties, and his political group were close to Chavismo for years, but the relationship deteriorated significantly after the 2024 election in Venezuela. Both the local opposition and part of the international community claim that the vote was rigged. The Brazilian government asked the Venezuelan authorities to show the minutes of the polls, which was not done.
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Lula’s closeness to Maduro exacted a high political cost in the PT member’s third term. Still in 2023, the PT member tried to rehabilitate the Venezuelan dictator politically by welcoming him to a summit of South American countries in Brasília, despite allegations of abuse by the regime. At the time, Maduro was openly criticized by presidents Luis Lacalle Pou, of Uruguay, and Gabriel Boric, of Chile.
After that, Lula tried to position himself as a mediator between Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition. But the Barbados Agreement, created with the participation of Brazil to try to reduce political stress in Venezuela, was disrespected, which also contributed to the separation between the Planalto and the Miraflores Palace.
The closeness between Lula and the Venezuelan regime has been criticized by the PT’s political opponents over the past few years. The connection has become politically more costly in recent months, with opinion polls indicating Maduro’s unpopularity and a rejection of the PT member’s support for the Chavista dictatorship in Brazil.
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After the election, the Chavista regime began to openly criticize Lula and Itamaraty, even stating that the Brazilian president was working for the CIA, the American secret service. Itamaraty did not respond to statements made by Attorney General William Tarek Saab.
